
Now that the holidays are fast approaching, it’s time to think of all the folks on your list for whom you need to buy presents (check out our tech gift guide if you haven’t yet!). The beauty of subscription gifts is that it’s the present that doesn’t require you to leave the house to purchase — you can do it in your PJs, at home and in bed! — and also, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Basically, it’s the perfect choice for the lazy and generous. Scroll on for some subscription box gifts ideas everyone on your list will love.
1. Function of Beauty ($32 or $42): Function of Beauty shampoos and conditioners are entirely customizable, from the color to the scent of the product. Simply have ’em take a hair quiz to determine the hair concerns they want to address, choose their hair type, and voilà! A totally personalized hair regimen just for your mom/husband/girlfriend/etc. You get the picture.
2. Smile Direct Club ($1500 or $99/Month): Give someone the gift of a perfect smile. While Smile Direct Club is best for minor adjustments, it’s kind of a steal in terms of orthodontic work. All your loved one needs to do is take a smile assessment to determine if he or she is a good candidate, then Smile Direct Club will mail over an easy-to-use kit to make molds, and they’ll begin sending over week by week aligners that will make their smile perfect.
3. Graze ($12/Box): Graze is the best gift for keeping someone’s hangry at bay. Every box is packed with eight delicious snack packs of Graze’s own creation, and you can choose for the boxes to be delivered every week, two weeks or month. Plus, their library of snacks is MASSIVE. Get ready to feast.
4. Ritual Vitamins ($30/Month): Keep your gift recipient healthy with a subscription to Ritual. These two-a-day women’s vitamins are incredibly transparent with their ingredient sources (you can even read up on detailed info from the lead researchers from the source) and are backed by science. Only the good stuff here.
5. Le Tote ($39 or $59/Month): No one is going to say no to a box of beautiful clothing you can try out, keep as long as you want and even sell you what you LOVE from it at a discount. Le Tote has a great collection of everything from tops to accessories, so the fashionista in your life can always stay stylish.
6. Quip ($40 Upfront then $10/3 Months): While we all know dental hygiene is deeply important, perhaps you think giving someone a subscription to toothbrushes and toothpaste sounds not all that fun. Welp, Quip might change your mind about that. You pay $40 up front for a sleek electric toothbrush that comes in six pretty colors (it comes with toothbrush, a travel cover mount, a large toothpaste and a small toothpaste), then $10 every three months after that for a replacement brush head, another large toothpaste, a small toothpaste and a AAA battery.
7. Birchbox ($30/3 Months): No subscription gift guide would be complete without the OG of subscription gifts: Birchbox. Six years after the birth of Birchbox, the company — and the samples inside — are better than ever. Subscribe your friend now and she’ll receive the special holiday edition of the box. Also, there’s Birchbox for Men as well now!
8. Sephora Play! Box ($10/Month): Many folks don’t realize that Sephora also has a subscription model for deluxe sized samples called Play! At a competitive $10 a month, you get a box full of travel and sample-sized goodies. The only problem is the service has been so popular, there’s a waitlist to get on it! Don’t worry though. The beauty co. is working to expand the number of subscriptions by the month.
9. The Book Drop ($16/Month): The bookworm in your life is going to love this! For just $16 a month, he or she will receive a box of five different titles. You can even cater to his or her reading interests by selecting a different themed box: The Jane for readers interested in tales about women, The Ernest for folks who like stories about men, a YA selection and one for kids too!
10. Vinyl Me, Please ($100/3 Months): This is the perfect subscription gift for the record-zealot you know. Gifts come in three, six or 12-month options and is basically a digital gift card for their record library. Every month, she’ll receive an LP pressed exclusively for Vinyl Me, Please members, an original 12”x12” art print inspired by the album, a custom cocktail recipe, access to The Standard and access to member-exclusive inventory in Vinyl Me, Please’s online store. Pretty sweet deal!
11. MealPal (20 meals for $6/Meal): In case you can’t always take your fave person out for a meal, with MealPal, you CAN buy him or her lunch! The best part is the package for 20 meals a month nets out to less than $6 a meal. All he or she has to do is select their meal the day before, and come lunchtime, stroll out nearby to pick it up. Currently, MealPal is available in NYC, San Francisco, DC, Miami and Chicago.
Want more holiday gift-spiration? Check out the Brit + Co Holiday Gift-Topia and follow us on Pinterest!
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Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures